Greys and small children...

[Superluvrgurl]

So I am concidering a grey as a new member of my family. First let me say this. I already have 4 tiels and I also have 3 small children ages 6 4 and 1. Now, that being said, my children have been taught how to aproach the cage if they would like to see the birds. They have been taught that they are not to hit/pull/harass the birds, and that they are not allowed to touch them without mommy or daddy. That being said we have absolutely no problems with our birds and kids in the same home.

 

I have some friends and when I told them that I was concidering a grey I got some awlful responses... people were warning me about the safety of my kids and telling me stories about flesh-ripping birds. I am sort of scared now. Should I be? Should I heed the advice of my friends and choose not to get a grey because of my kids? advice would be appriciated. REALLY appriciated because now I am starting to worry.

Thanks!

[Sallas]

I do not think mt greys are any more nippy than my other birds. Birds are like people in that they all have their own personality. There are some that will be nippy and some that are not.

 

If you were to get a grey as a baby, you would have a much better chance of a bird that does not nip. Now bites/nips will happen when birds lose their balance and such.

[jhhuhma]

I have 4 kids 15,13,9,4 and I also watch a 2 year old every day My Tag is 5 months old so when I brought him home he didn't know how to be mean, of all the kids my 9 year old is his favorite. He get my bird out every morning before school and they have a very sweet bond the 4 year old is a little scared of him but they both seem to co exist. Actually he dislikes my 15 year old the most but the feelings are quite mutual. I am wondering are you concidering a baby or an older bird and a tag or a cag? I see you are from NE so am I where in NE. I got my bird from a breeder about 45 min from me she is wonderful and I am super happy with how much she loves and handles her birds. It's funny because I have 1 teil and he is quite snotty all the kids are scared to death of him but everyone pretty much loves Echo. Echo has bitten my husband pretty hard and drew a little blood but it really wasn't as bad as the horror stories I heard. Anyway it sounds to me like your kids have been taught to respect birds so I think you will be fine. I was worried about all kinds of things before I got Echo I waited 3 years to finally decide to do it and I do not regret getting him he is the love of my life and has brought nothing but joy. It does help that he is a total mama's boy.... He loves to cuddle and so do I.

[judygram]

Kids and birds do exist in the same household as in the previous post but it would be smart to introduce them slowly and supervise the kids interaction with the grey. Children, especially very young children can be loud and quick moving, actions that tend to upset or scare greys and they might react unfavorably to that. I would keep the young ones a safe distance away from the grey until they get old enough to know what they are dealing with. A grey can deliver a nasty bite that could scar a young one for life.

 

All greys are individuals, some will bite at not much provocation and others will hardly attempt to bite but they all can be unpredictable so let the kids observe from a safe distance until they can handle closer interaction.

 

The bottom line is there is no danger to your kids if you take the necessary precautions and use this opportunity to teach your kids about the proper treatment of pets, it can be a wonderful learning experience for them.

[LisaM]

In my opinion, it all comes down to the education and training of the kids, which it sounds like you have already started. The only thing you can do with the littlest one, which you likely did with all of them, is keep them away from the birds until they can be trusted to treat/handle them correctly. I have a kids, 10 and 7, and one of our rules is that no bird is ever allowed on their shoulders (my 7 y/o still only handles the birds when my husband or I are right there...just in case). Only their hand, lower arm, lap. And actually they don't handle our Grey much anyway (only if she gets on the floor for the most part).

 

I don't think it's a different situation than with any other bird. I have actually heard of some pretty vicious tiny parrotlets that nip and draw blood more than any Grey I've heard of.

 

Any parrot can, and probably will at some point, bite someone. The best thing you can do is make sure the kids learn to "read" the body language and keep their exposure limited to less vital parts of the body (keep away from the face, etc.).

 

I don't think having young kids should be a reason to not consider a Grey. Our Grey is the most entertaining for our kids of all our birds.<br><br>Post edited by: LisaM, at: 2009/01/31 05:41